Marcy Dam — Attraction in Town of North Elba

Drove into high peaks Friday midday and spent the afternoon going up Mount Van Hoenberg overlooking Olympic ski jumps, then an overnight at the base under wispy pines with a soft needle floor. Lots of free fire wood there — good thing because we were collecting it in the dark with lanterns hung on trees casting spoke-like shadows. Drive over to Adirondack Loj to park. Hike to Marcy Dam. Spent the night sleeping on the beach under the open stars and woke up to the sun pushing the rising cool mist off the lake and over our faces poking out of sleeping bags. Marcy Dam lakeshores made a great base for forays into the highest peaks. Day trip to Avalanche Lake where we hung out on the north end erratic (singular and out-of-place giant boulder dropped in random location by glacier), and waited for the setting sun's shadow to reach a large crag in nearly sheer East wall which resulted in naturally perfect timing for fire wood collection in the last light. We carved a carrot pipe for fireside enjoyment. Spent the night in a lean-to. Critters got into the elevated food supply overnight. Ate all our junk food and left the veggies — nature's way of helping us out. Potatoes for breakfast and wishing we hadn't smoked that extra carrot. A perfect...

We decided to go for a trek to do one of the 46ers, with a friend. We went on 7th may - assuming summers would have kicked in by now.

The dam is beautifully maintained. The sparkling sunshine on the river was to die for. It was an open group with gorgeous views of the mountains. Some of the peaks still had ice and was a sight to sore eyes. The ranger there we pretty helpful in getting us to the right peak given snow was still present and you needed the right tools to trek that

The dam has a good bridge, some poles and subsection are broken but it only adds to the beauty of it.

We saw a couple.with their dog there and that dog went crazy. I'm sure anyone looking to get away from the city would have felt the same way.

The dam is roughly an hour or two depending on your speed from the lodge. The path is pretty straightforward with the markings however in may, it was a muddy season. So watch out for that. You can dress for summers but high heel shoes will be...

A peaceful and beautiful landscape, especially in the winter. The hike to Marcy Dam itself from the Loj is relatively easy and wanders through a mixed coniferous-deciduous forest. Marcy Dam itself is a great jumping off point to other areas such as Avalanche Pass, Indian Falls, and, of course, Mt. Marcy. Highly recommend checking this out, especially in the winter and/or on a Sunday or weekday. There’s also cell service at the dam, but hopefully you...